TSP Payment Option

[secrt007agt]

My last official day is July 31st and I am wondering if or how I can set up my monthly payments BEFORE my last work day? It seems like I should be able to plan ahead, so there is not a long delay (paper-pushing) before I receive my first monthly TSP payment. All that I have read (and understand) indicates that I must wait until I am in retirement status before this can be set up. ???

I know TSP is somewhat behind times, but my buddy retired recently and requested a lump sum transfer over to some type of IRA. The company that was setting this up did not receive the money, so my buddy calls TSP and inquires about the $$. They told him the CHECK had gone out in the MAIL---the guy could not believe they sent a 1/2 million bucks in a check--in the mail! Then he asked to have it traced or check its progress because someone may have stolen it, but TSP told him he would have to 30 days before it could be reported stolen. By this time my buddy is about to rip the phone out of the wall, but he asked--in this day & time--with the way normal banking is now handled--why did the TSP not get the money to it's destination by wire, like most if not all business is done today? The TSP person told my buddy--"we are not set up for that because we are not a financial institution!" THESE ARE THE PEOPLE HANDLING MILLIONS, OR BEHAPS TRILLIONS OF OUR $$ ?

My buddy has just about fixed the hole in the wall where the phone was attached.

 

[XL-entLady]

My last official day is July 31st and I am wondering if or how I can set up my monthly payments BEFORE my last work day? It seems like I should be able to plan ahead, so there is not a long delay (paper-pushing) before I receive my first monthly TSP payment. All that I have read (and understand) indicates that I must wait until I am in retirement status before this can be set up. ???

You can't get there from here! Knowing TSP, does that surprise you?

When my husband retired from federal service, we tried to get his monthly payments set up before his official retirement date, but after all his papers had gone in and been accepted. Nope! We were told, over and over, by several people and in several ways, that we had to wait until TSP had been officially notified by OPM that the employee is currently an officially separated employee (i.e., already retired) before TSP will accept the paperwork to start monthly payments.:blink:

Bottom line is you have to wait until after OPM tells TSP that you're retired before TSP will consider disbursing any of your TSP $ back to you.

It takes a while. Sorry!

Lady

 

[Harley69]

TSP has to be notified of your separation first and that comes as an electronic update from payroll. Basically, you have to be closed out in their system first before they notify TSP that you have separated. Without that separation code, you can't set up monthly payments. Separation code normally comes at least 30 days after your actual separation date.